Stringed musical instruments form the backbone of popular music in many countries around the world. Unfortunately, many stringed musical instruments regularly drift out of tune due to local environmental changes, such as changes in temperature and humidity, as well as from being physical disturbed, such as being bumped, jostled, or even played. As a result, many stringed musical instruments need to be regularly tuned. One commonly-used technique for tuning stringed instruments is using one's ear to identify the proper frequency of each string of a stringed musical instrument. However, many people are not blessed with the aural acumen needed to tune a stringed musical instrument by ear. Additionally, tunings may need to be performed when local noise levels are too high for a person to be able to hear well enough to tune a stringed musical instrument by ear.
Another commonly-used technique for tuning stringed instruments includes using one or more tone generators, including tuning forks, pitch pipes, telephone dial tones, or other musical instruments. A tone generator can be used to produce an audible reference tone that a person can compare to the frequency of a string on a stringed musical instrument being tuned. However, tone generators are not always readily available and can be burdensome to maintain. Additionally, using tone generators to tune stringed musical instruments can be difficult for people without pitch-perfect hearing and/or when used under noisy conditions.
Yet another commonly-used technique for tuning stringed musical instruments is using electronic tuning devices. Electronic tuning devices can be useful for people that do not have the ability to discern between strings that are in tune and strings that are not in tune, and for use in noisy environments. However, electronic tuning devices can be expensive, cumbersome, and inconvenient to use.
Many people enjoy using a metronome to set a tempo while playing a stringed musical instrument. Unfortunately, metronomes may be inconvenient or unfeasible to use in certain locations. Additionally, some stringed-musical-instrument players enjoy incorporating dynamic visual displays into their musical performances. However, integrating dynamic visual displays, such as flashing lights, can be expensive and burdensome. Additionally, arranging dynamic visual displays to flash in relation to music being played can be especially burdensome. Stringed-musical-instrument players, as well as people that enjoy listening to stringed musical instruments have, therefore, recognized a need for a better way to tune a stringed musical instrument, set an accompanying tempo, and incorporate a dynamic visual display into created musical performances without providing a number of additional expensive and burdensome devices.